Sounders vs. Timbers ‘just like a derby game should be’

Timber Joey is part of the atmosphere that makes the Sounders-Timbers rivalry the best in Major League Soccer. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Chris Ryan of Grantland dropped in on the Sounders vs. Timbers match Saturday in Portland and was able to choke back his Pacific Northwest jokes long enough to marvel at one of the few true soccer rivalries in North America. He even got an “Outsiders” reference in.

Whatever city-versus-city animosity there is seems to basically revolve around the idea of Seattle as Socs and Portland as Greasers. Or maybe Seattle is full of suits and Portland is full of rebels. Rivalries are always the same song, be they in the Pacific Northwest or the Northeast Corridor or Ohio or West Texas. Different lyrics, same melody.

Ryan gets plenty of background on the rivalry before expertly dissecting the game, which the Sounders won 3-2.

But his main point is that Sounders vs. Timbers is the kind of atmosphere soccer needs if it’s ever to truly catch on in the United States.

It’s a good read and paints the Pacific Northwest in a very positive light for a national audience, even if it does occasionally fall back on jokes about microbrews and fixed-gear bikes. Read it here.